Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Organizing My Kitchen {and yours too}

When Frog Prince and I moved in to our house 6 months ago today, we had a blank slate in our kitchen. After our remodel, we have been trying out different ways to arrange our kitchen dishes, utensils and small appliances for maximum efficiency.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who arranges and re-arranges trying to find the best use for the space?!

Today, I want to share with you the top three things that have really worked for us to organize our kitchen:

1. Clean utensil drawers.
When I have a limited amount of time to get a recipe together, the last thing I want to do is spend time looking all over for that missing Tablespoon! Or, that missing garlic press I mentioned on Facebook. Which, I did end up finding -- behind the bread machine in the pantry closet. Anyway, I digress. Having clean, organized drawers is a must for us.

We lined our drawers with a shelf liner, and used an old Velveeta cheese box (and by old, I mean 5+ years old, since we haven't had Velveeta in our house for that long!) to hold our measuring spoons and meat thermometer. Corralling those loose items in one space makes the drawer look much nicer.

2. Easy Access Baking Supplies
We use a lot of flour and baking supplies, so I want these items to be easily accessible. Arranged on two pull-out drawers in our new kitchen cabinet are 8 flour storage containers. I find these Oxo storage containers so much easier to work with than torn flour bags. Each 4-quart square canister holds a 5lb bag of flour.

I labeled them using our label maker and have them organized for easy access - with the wheat flours in the front, the bread and all purpose flour behind them, and the sugars, oats and powdered milk on the lower shelf.

3. Menu Plan Central
Tucked along the side of our refrigerator is a posting of our weekly menu plan. Menu planning significantly reduces dinner time stress, decreases our food budget, encourages fellowship of Frog Prince and I in the kitchen, promotes healthier eating and saves us from that dreadful 5pm question, "Honey, what's for dinner?!"

Frog Prince gave me this rotating menu plan dry erase board a few years ago and I love it. Each Thursday night, Frog Prince and I take a few minutes to menu plan. This is often determined by (1) what we have that we would like to use up, (2) what's on sale, and (3) what we're interested in eating. You can read more about how we menu plan here, if you'd like.

We record our menu items on the calendar and place it on the side of the fridge, clearly visible as a reminder (oh, yeah, I need to start the crockpot before work) first thing in the morning.

Over the coming weeks, I'll continue to give you sneak peaks into our kitchen -- how it's organized and how we store healthy foods in our space. But today, I'd like to finish up this post with an organizing kick-start giveaway!

I'm sure many of you know Laura, The Organizing Junkie, and are inspired by her organization. Well, she has just authored a book about organizing called Clutter Rehab, and I have FOUR free, signed copies for you!

164 comments:

I rearrange stuff a lot too. It frustrates my hubby when he empty's the dishwasher. I laugh when it's been MONTHS since I rearranged and he's suddenly lost about where to put something.

I would say my food organization/pantry needs it most. As in I need to magically double the space. However, if we're blessed to be able to move like we'd like to, I'll be looking to figure out how to best arrange everything in the 'triangle' to make the kitchen as efficient as possible!

Definitely my pantry! It has ample space, but so much of it is back behind a wall that it is very difficult to access. I would like to tear the whole thing out and either create a walk-in or a rotating shelf system.

I seriously need to get to that junk drawer.... you know the bottom drawer in the kitchen that every house has that becomes a resting place for anything and everything. Broken rubber bands, pieces of string, the power adapter for a long since removed piece of electrical technology......

We just had a kitchen re-do also. All new cabinets etc.We have 2 corner lazy susans, one below, and one in the corner in the upper cabinets. It's rather hard for me to even see what's on the top tier. Need to figure out what would be best up there.

Yeahh, I have so many cupboards waiting to be organized: tea cupboard, pot cupboard, utencils drawer. The biggest issue is that our kitchen remolling is still on hold and I just dont have enough cupboard space in the kitchen... Ou well, I´ll manage till the new kitchen will be ready!

We moved into our home 7 months ago. With a 4 yo and 1 1/2 yo, I have had a hard time keeping my counter tops clutter free. I still have room in my bottom cabinets, but it feels as cluttered as leaving things on my counter to randomly place items in free space in cabinets. So... My cabinets are where I would start. I sort of organized them when we moved in, but the organization has spiraled since then. Thanks for this chance!

We moved into our house a few months ago. The kitchen has a desk area with several cubbie spaces (different sizes, vertical and horizontal) that I am trying to utilize for the overwhelming amount of school papers, ongoing homework projects, etc. that my kids bring home. This area usually ends up looking cluttered.

I've been working really hard on kitchen reorganization this past month. I've cleaned out four cupboards and my pantry so far. BUT...next on my list is my utensil drawer! Which is funny because it's the smallest of things on my "to do" list but the one I'm least looking forward to! It's messy, (a little dirty w/ crumbs...yuck) and filled with stuff I don't use!Great giveaway - thanks!

I was just about to start (a month late..better late than never!)my 52 weeks of organization! I am so overwhelmed I am writing down all of the areas that need organization on little slips of paper and drawing them out of a hat to determine what I should do first! Help!!

I love reorganizing my kitchen! Today, actually, I need to figure out how to make some space for some new mugs I bought. I also need to figure out how to organize baking supplies like flour and sugar. Usually I just leave them in their bags (aside from some countertop canisters), but maybe bins are the way to go.

Unfortunately renting means I cannot rip cabinets and counters out to make it exactly what I want, but it would be nice to work on the 2 pantries that I have, the smaller one for canned items etc and the larger one for the appliances like the food processor, blender, etc. (Note the crockpot stays out all the time lol)

Spices! We are currently employing a turn-table approach, but this method wastes space. When we remodel, we plan to have a rack on the inside of a cabinet or on the wall, over the counter. Further, we are trying to switch to small jars of bulk-purchased spices so that we can (a) fit more spices into the same space and (b) keep our spices fresh!

Thanks for sharing.....the one room I am always wanting organized is my kitchen. Never seem to get it the way that works the best for us. So this is a great giveaway. The place that needs it the most would be my baking area.....it's the worst.Tammy

My kitchen and pantry need to be organized really bad. With two of us cooking a lot (my daughter and myself) she doesn't always put things back where she found them bc she says that it doesn't make sense. I have a very small kitchen and you can not always put things where it makes sense as there is no room.

I think the biggest tip I can leave others with is to put things where you will use them. This means you store glasses NEAR the refrigerator, plates/utensils closest to the table, pots/pans by the stove, spices/flour, etc by your workspace where you make your concoctions. With those tips in mind, I have organized my kitchen like this:http://lifelessonsmilitarywife.blogspot.com/2007/11/store-things-together-that-work.html.

My husband made our kitchen cabinets 5 years ago but he ran out of steam or just got plain lazy and never made the drawers. So I have holes where the drawers go but no drawers so I bought a wire basket for my cooking utensils that I keep on the counter. Counter space is at a premium because we have a small kitchen and it's a mess and so hard to find what I need when cooking. I'd really like to better organize my utensils and flatware and everything else that is supposed to be in a drawer but is now up on the counter top.

I am actually pretty organized in my kitchen (okay, some say anal). BUT...I would start to RE-organize my lower kitchen cabinets! I like stuff at a level I can reach it, so I usually fill up my upper cabinets, and throw stuff down low that I won't need often. Plus, it keeps me from having to bend over a lot and lift up heavy items. EXCEPT, I do have to get down there and get my crockpot(s) because that's the only place they will fit! So that's where I'd start...but it would probably start a whirlwind of a complete kitchen makeover! :)

I rearrange things a lot myself, still doing it 7 years after moving in. LOL. My kitchen is really small, without much storage. The biggest cabinet is sadly a corner one and I just can't figure out how to use it well. Right now it just has all the coffee cups, glasses, glass measuring cups, dishes I only pull out obsessionally, etc., randomly shoved into it. It takes forever to find what I need and usually end up pulling out everything on a shelf before I find it. I feel sick to my stomach every time I look at that cupboard.

I would start in my kitchen cabinets! I swear when we moved in I was all about how AWESOME it was we had so many... now I swear we don't have enough. So obviously something has gone haywire in our organization.

The first thing I need to tackle is my HUSBAND -- we've been living in our current home for almost 9 years and I have not changed anything since the first year we lived here -- and still I should feel grateful that he empties the dishwasher -- but I can never find anything because he won't take the trouble to learn where it goes -- So my solution seems to be reorganizing my entire kitchen and make him decide where everything goes. It might kill me to let him rearrange -- but it beats not finding what I need when I need it!

My food pantry is a happy jumble that inspires creativity if nothing else. But my cupboard that holds bowls, storage containers, cutting boards, pot holders, and who-knows-what-else could really use some inspiration. Both, how to organize it, and help simply deciding what I need and what I can give away!

I most need to rearrange my pantry. I used to store extra food in the front room of my house, but recently decided that I wanted to keep all food in the kitchen. So now I have food stuffed in all of the cabinets haphazardly. I could definitely use some tips for this! I'm glad I found your site. Amy

My husband and I are in the process of adding a pantry to our Kitchen, so as soon as that is completed our Kitchen is getting a whole organization make over, including dishes and pots and pans. I'm very excited about not having to worry about where everything will fit, since our cupboards are very small. Once all the food stuff is in the pantry my kitchen will be more like my safe haven... I'm sooooo excited. Thanks for the ideas to get me started!!!

Our kitchen is pretty organized, but I can always find other areas in it to "fix" and make more user friendly. I think my next project would be my recipes and recipe books. I recently organized all my small appliances and that works well!

I'm constantly rearranging my kitchen...and that's after 11 years on this house! Something new comes in, and things have to move. Or the season changes and so does my cooking so commonly used tools change. At least, it's never boring, lol! By the way, I gave you an award on my blog. I hope you like it.

OH OH OH!!!! I SOOOOOO need that book. My kitchen is totally unorganized from top to bottom. So sad. When we moved in I just put stuff in cabinets to get it put away thinking I'd get back to it later...uh, yeah, right. Not so much. It's been a year and it's still where I put it that first day!

I would love to win a copy!! My kitchen is SO small and I only have 3 drawers and very limited cabinet space. My whole kitchen needs an overhall! My main area is my utensil drawer. Everything is crammed in there because I have nowhere else to put anything.

That sounds so much like my kitchen! I just rearranged all of my tupperware, and the spices are next! I was always unsure about using the same type of spice holder as you own. Saw it in a store and loved it, but since my kitchen is rather small and I just have a small space between my stove and fridge, just like you, I was scared it would take up too much space... Looking at your pictures, I now know I will still have enough space, on top of that more space in my pantry because all the spices will be gone out of there! Thank you!

My pantry - it desparately need organization! Every so often we pull everything out, check expiration dates, clean, organize and put it back. But it doesn't take long to be cluttered and not user-friendly. I would love to establish an organized pantry!

I just recently started organizing my kitchen (as part of Laura's 52 weeks challenge). And, yes, I also find myself organizing and re-organizing to find the best plan! For me, the #1 thing to get organized is my pantry in the kitchen. This is because when my pantry is beautiful and I can see exactly what I have on hand, I'm more inspired to get cookin'! Thanks for the giveaway!

Oh I totally rearrange ALL of my rooms - much to my husbands dismay. But really - I need to find a better usage for that darn lazy susan that has a broken shelf and my SPICE CUPBOARD. It's a TOTAL disaster (Ok, ok, the majority of my cupboards end up that way when I have the kids put things away, but I digress).

I really need to work on organizing our kids school/babysitter papers. I know I can't save them all! Our daughter brings home atleast 2 each day from the sitter. And our son has To Do papers, To fill out papers and Things I have done. They have taken over the very limited counterspace I have ...beside the coffee pot and on the microwave stand! Help!

Hi!I have so little spaace in my kitchen I'd organize all the food items in boxes along my wall.I keep trying but I seriously just need one of those pantry type tall closets.Thanks so much for the opportunity to win in this giveaway!~Mippy bunnysmip at yahoo dot com

A note: I've found great organizing bins for the pantry and freezer and drawers at thrift stores. Cheap plastic baskets and other containers are to be had for pennies. That is, if one doesn't have an old Velveeta cheese box laying around. :)

I have some cupboards that need to be reorganized. I have been pretty good about organizing and reorganizing to make our kitchen as efficiently as possible, but there is always more to be done. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

Our house was built in 1929 and even with a kitchen remodel the previous owners did we still don't have a pantry. I keep everything as parred down as possible and all my small appliances are off the counters under the kitchen sink! I can't stand cluttered counter tops. Having little storage space keeps me from buying single use gadgets or appliances I don't really need.

I can't wait to start organizing all of my drawers in my kitchen. We are getting ready to move into our new house and I think it will be great to start from scratch to get everything the way that is most useful to me. The drawers in my kitchen now are really small so I am really excited about getting more room.

I have to do the utensil drawer. I can not find my SS 1/4 cup measure. It has been MIA since Christmas. I hope that one of my kitchen helpers, AKA as Grand daughters ( 5 yo, 3 yo, 2 yo) did not accidentally toss it in the trash. jmox@charter.net

I am currently trying to organize my storage containers so that i can quickly get what i want. I have those wonderful containers on the spinners but unfortunately they are not enough for everything, especially since i like to use those containers for everything in the house.

I would start on my counter tops. I have just received a VitaMix (hip hurray!!) and I plan on it joining my Kitchen Aid mixer and Wonder Mill, but have no room because my counters are all hot spots. There has to be a place for all this mess, and I don't think it's all in the kitchen :-).

I would probably start with the cluttered utensil drawer. There is just too much stuff in there! I would also love to tackle the counters. Visually, clean counters are very peaceful and orderly, but I tend to forget about things if they are tucked away.

Oh, I need so much help with my kitchen! I don't honestly know WHERE to start. We just moved in in November so everything is just sorta stuck in places. I think my pantry is what is suffering the most, maybe? I'm just lost as to what to do anywhere!

I need to organize the cupboards. We moved in to our house in December and I had no idea how I wanted to organize the kitchen. I still haven't unpacked all my Tupperware because I don't know how I want it. The food sections are semi put together with like foods, but when I bring groceries home, it's a nightmare to put them away!

I have just started re-organising and decluttering my kitchen. I started in my pantry, and freed up the bottom shelf for all my big appliances, thus freeing up space in my underbench cupboards. So next up I need to try and get those under control. I love the idea of the baking gadgets in the drawer all together.

I'd start with the pantry! I have a large shelved two-door pantry in my kitchen and although I recently threw out a lot of expired items, it could really use some organizing! I'd also do the fridge... i can never find what I'm looking for in there!

I took care of the plastic container prob in my kitchen by buying several (probably more than I needed) of 3 different height square disposable containers. Now all the lids stack together, with only 3 additional stacks for the separate sizes. Helps organize leftovers in the fridge too.

I moved a month ago and the very first thing I organized was my baking cabinet. It's the fullest of all of my cabinets and has all my spices, sugars, flours, and any extra products I need for baking and cooking. I put it right over the portion of my counter where I do most of my prep work.

Oh my goodness, where do i start! We just recently completed a kitchen extension literally a couple of weeks before our son was born. So everything was hurridly put away and we have since found through using the space that things really aren't in the right places at all.

This year is all about getting my home organised and it's the theme of my blog and the kitchen is pretty high on the list of priorities after the aforementioned son's nursery and our living room.

I guess i would start by literally taking everything out of every cupboard, cleaning each shelf and then working on putting it all back. My baking supplies need a bigger cupboard for a start as that's a hobby which has grown a lot in recent months!

I just recently organized my cabinets, but I have this horrible "closet" due to the retrofitting of my kitchen to hold a stacked washer and drier. Sounds really odd, and it is hard to explain, but trust me, it collects all the junk and it needs to be decluttered and made useful again.

Both my pantry and my spice cupboard need serious help. Part of the problem is the way I organize vs. the way my DH organizes. Just when I think I have things in order, he changes it up on me.... very frustrating.

I would have to start in my cabinets.....they are a mess! I just don't have enough room and really need to work on using what little space that I have the best way possible. Thanks for a chance to win! :-)

Thank you for mentioning rearranging the kitchen. There have been times when I wonder why I haven't moved things around sooner. We are just starting the menu planning process in our house. Last week was wonderful! Thanks for you tips!

Oh, the places to organize! Where to start? The cupboards where all the dishes and pans are kept? The pantry? The drawers? I don't know where I would start first. I just know I need to start. Thank you for the opportunity!

There are too many areas to choose from, as we contemplate a major kitchen renovation, but I'd have to say that the most important place to start is our silverware/spatulas/commonly used utensils drawer...courtesy of SnoWhite's mother...

When cooking, please make sure to follow kitchen hygiene and safety -- cook meat until internal temperature is at safe levels, always check labels for allergens, and use caution in the kitchen -- I love sharing recipes, but I am not liable for damages done as a result of trying these recipes.